1969
Morris Narunsky (BS, Aerospace Engineering) was named Man of the Year for Congregation Brith Shalom Men’s Club in Houston. He was born in a German Nazi concentration camp in occupied southern Poland shortly after it was liberated. Semi-retired, he worked with offshore oil and gas equipment manufacturers.
1972
Betsy Price (BS, Biology) received the Great Women of Texas Lifetime Achievement Award from the Fort Worth Business Press. Price was elected the 44th mayor of Fort Worth in 2011 and was the city’s longest-serving mayor when she retired in 2021. She also served as Tarrant County tax assessor-collector from 2000-11.
1974
Carroll Pruitt (BS, Architecture) was appointed to the Texas Industrialized Building Code Council by Gov. Greg Abbott. He is the president and CEO of Pruitt Consulting Inc. The Texas Industrialized Building Code Council oversees the regulation of industrialized housing and buildings by state programs.
1975
Ignacio T. Nuñez (BS, Biology) has retired from practicing medicine and serving as an Arlington City Council member. He continues to serve as a planning and zoning commissioner. He also serves on the board of trustees for Texas Health Resources and its strategy/quality and performance committees and on the UTA College of Science Advisory Council.
Texas State Sen. Royce West
(’79 MA, ’74 BA, Sociology) was recently inducted into the Fred David Gray Hall of Fame of the National Bar Association. The hall of fame honors lawyers who have practiced for at least 40 years and have made significant contributions to the cause of justice. West, UTA’s first African American student body president, was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 2001.
1977
Joe Cravens (BA, Physical Education) was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame as a Coach of Merit. Cravens is vice president of student and public affairs at St. Joseph Catholic High School, and he coached the girls’ basketball team in back-to-back Utah State Championships. He served as head coach at Weber State University from 1999-2006 and was the 2003 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year and the National Mid-Majors Coach of the Year.
1978
Chris Barnes (BS, Architecture) was a finalist for D CEO’s 2022 Commercial Real Estate Awards for Excellence in Architecture and Design. He is principal-in-charge and owner of BOKA Powell.
1979
Thomas B. Tucker (BA, English) has retired after 38 years of practicing medicine, including 32 years in oncology in Texas and Washington. He now lives in San Antonio.
1981
Kandy Kaye Horn (MBA) ran for Texas governor in the Republican Party primary. The Terrell, Texas, resident is chair of the Horn Family Foundation and CEO of the Baroness Kandy Kaye Horn Foundation.
1983
Brian Happel (BBA) has joined Regions Bank to lead as executive vice president of the commercial banking team and CEO of the Fort Worth market. Previously, he worked for BBVA and JP Morgan Chase. Happel is also a member of UTA’s College of Business Advisory Board.
1988
Tony Lenamon (BBA, Real Estate) was named to the Dallas Business Journal’s Texas 100 list. He is Americas CEO of Valuation and Advisory Services for JLL, a global commercial real estate services company.
1997
Theron Bowman (PhD, Urban and Public Administration; ’91 MPA; ’83 BS, Biology) was honored with the naming of the city of Arlington’s South Police Service Center. He became Arlington’s first African American police chief in 1999. Dr. Bowman serves as the CEO of Theron L. Bowman Inc., a police practice consulting firm. He was an adjunct professor of criminology and criminal justice from 1993-2020.
1998
Cristi Landrum (BA, Architecture) joined Perkins Eastman as a principal and regional residential practice area leader in its Dallas office.
“UTA offered me a place to learn and thrive as a new international student in the U.S., and I am grateful for the phenomenal people I met there and the experience all around.”
—Ezinne Udezue
(’99 BS, Electrical engineering) Chief Product Officer, WP Engine
2003
Heather Elise Zrubek (MCRP) is stewardship manager at Texas 2036, a nonpartisan public policy think tank with offices in Austin and Dallas. Previously, she was member services and events coordinator for the National Association of Episcopal Schools.
2004
Samuel Digby (MPA) has been elected class president of the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration’s 59th School of Executive Leadership. He is a sergeant with the Dallas Police Department.
Aaronda Smith (BA, English) was named Teacher of the Year in the Choices/Magnet category for Dallas Independent School District. She is an honors reading/language arts eighth grade instructor at George Bannerman Dealey Montessori and Vanguard Academy. A 16- year Dallas ISD veteran teacher, Smith started Dealey Montessori’s Debate Program in 2015. Throughout her career, she has served in various leadership roles.
2006
Carrie Cunningham (MArch) is the design manager at Southern Land Company.
2008
Robert A. Calkins (BA, History), a major in the United States Army, is the committee chief for the Military Intelligence Captains Career Course, 304th Military Intelligence Battalion, at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.
2010
Michael Joseph Jackson (’10 MEd, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies) was named Principal of the Year in the Choices/Magnet category for the Dallas Independent School District. He is a 22-year veteran educator, having served as a teacher, teacher mentor, basketball coach, grade-level chair, campus instructional coach, AVID coordinator, assistant principal, and principal, all in Dallas ISD.
Cortney Gumbleton
(’13 MSW) has joined TechFW as the assistant director for marketing and operations. She was founder, co-owner, and managing partner of Locavore, a commercial kitchen and event center, and executive director of The Jordan Elizabeth Harris Foundation. Gumbleton was a UTA MAVS 100 Top Business honoree in 2020 and 2021 and a 2019 Fort Worth Business Press 40-Under-40. She won the 2018 Fort Worth Business Plan Competition.
2011
Michaela Dollar (MA, Communication) was named an assistant city manager of Richardson. Previously, she was economic development director for Georgetown, Texas.
Bobby J. Lackey (BBA, Finance) is senior vice president at Grandview Bank in Burleson, Texas, and president of the Burleson Rotary Club.
Belinda Kathryn Smith (MS, Industrial and Organizational Psychology) and her husband, Ryan Huffer, were featured in the New York Times’ Feb. 18, 2022, edition. The Love section feature told of their meeting after joining the cheerleading team Cheer Dallas in 2010. The Dallas couple wed on Feb. 2. Smith is the director of human resources and marketing at Neighborhood Medical Center in Dallas.
2012
Jessica Winter Lunce (BA, History) is associate director for full-time MBA admissions for the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. She was coordinator for marketing and communications for the UTA College of Education and Health Professions in 2012-14.
C.P. Mitchell (BSN) has made her literary debut with a children’s book, Nurses Are Superheroes Too: Heroes Wear Scrubs and Stethoscopes. The book highlights nurses and the instrumental role that they play in the health care system.
Jennifer Mitchell (MSN, Nursing Administration; ’04 BSN) is a UTA adjunct clinical faculty member at Texas Health Denton.
2014
Houston Hardaway (BA, Film/Video) and his bride Roseanne Blair were featured in the New York Times’ Dec. 10, 2021, edition. The Love section feature told the story of their relationship, from meeting as actors playing a married couple onstage while performing improv at Dallas Comedy House to their wedding Nov. 20, 2021, in Oak Cliff. He is a content creator for his wife, a social media influencer.
Fabrice Kabona (MPA) is the city manager of Madisonville, Texas. He previously worked as an assistant city manager and deputy city manager for Lancaster, Texas.
Derick Miller (MS, ’93 BS, Criminology and Criminal Justice) is chief for the Irving Police Department and an adjunct professor of criminology at UTA. Miller also serves as president of the DFW Major City Police Chiefs Association.
2015
Syed Ahmed (MS, Engineering Management) is the manager of eCommerce Transportation for Walmart. He lives in Brampton, Toronto, Canada.
Christopher D. Rainsberger (BA, Political Science), a captain in the U.S. Army, is the company commander of B Company, 304th Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.
2016
Jonathan Arguello (BBA, Marketing) operates a food truck, Gustos Burgers + Stuff, at Hotel Dryce in the Fort Worth museum district. He is also the founder and CEO of Nameless LLC.
Mayrena Hernandez (BS, Athletic Training) is a tenure-track assistant professor in athletic training at Sam Houston State University. She conducts research on how low socioeconomic status and/or minority/ethnic families of young athletes are impacted by the negative consequences of sport specialization and the current youth sport culture in the United States.
Karlie O’Reilly (MS, Athletic Training) is an athletic trainer at Princeton University with the men’s ice hockey, women’s rugby, and women’s golf teams. She is a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) Research and Education Foundation Scholarship Committee and the NATA District 2 Value Committee.
2017
Ryan Dublin (BSN) was named to the Permian Basin Great 25 Nurses list. She is a registered nurse in the critical care unit at Midland Memorial Hospital.
Leonard “Leo” A. Mantey (MPA, Public Policy Analysis; ’13 MCRP) is the senior deputy director for the city of Richmond, Virginia. He previously was the strategic operations manager with the city of Fort Worth.
Erin Malone Turner (BA, English) is the playwright of The Secret Keepers, which was presented at the Bishop Arts Theatre Center. The play was part of the 2022 First Move Playwrights Festival.
“I think more students and parents are seeing the positive impact an education from UTA and across the UT System can have on graduates’ careers. Proud to be a Maverick alum!”
—John Wheeler Jr.
(’19 EMBA) Digital Customer Success Manager, Alteryx
2018
Porscha Natasha Brown (MPA) won the Democratic Party primary for judge for Harris County Criminal Court No. 3 in 2022. She has served as assistant public defender in the felony trial division of the Harris County public defender’s office.
Eric Hess (MFA, Art/Glass) had his glass art piece “Father” added to the permanent collection of the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington. Previously exhibited at the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the piece is composed of white glass, steel, and an antique faucet. He is CEO and president at Sanctuary Arts School in Dallas.
2019
Francis Basebang (DNP; ’17 MSN, Family Nurse Practitioner; ’13 BSN) is an adjunct faculty member in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation’s graduate family nurse practitioner program at UTA. He also is an adjunct faculty member for Trinity Valley Community College.
Mandee Tucker (MSN) has been promoted to associate dean of nursing and program director of the registered nursing and medical assisting programs at Lamar State College Orange, where she has taught since 2008.
2020
Tyler Garner (PhD, Kinesiology; ’11 MS, Exercise Physiology; ’09 BS, Exercise Science) is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at UTA.
2021
Brandon Blakeslee (PhD, ’14 MA, History) has joined Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, as a tenure-track faculty.
Kapreta Johnson (PhD, Public and Urban Administration) was named to the board of directors for the Tarrant County Homeless Coalition. She serves as the director of alumni strategy and relations for Dallas College.
Rachel Balthrop Mendoza (MPA) is the development manager for the town of Little Elm. She previously was assistant to the city manager for Denton, Texas.
2022
Joe Carpenter (MA, History) is the assistant archivist/oral historian for the Vietnam Center in the Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University.
William Hansard (’22 PhD, ’15 BA, History) has accepted a position at the Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University in Dickinson, North Dakota.
